Wine Tourism: Weekend in Mendoza

I just got back from a weekend in Mendoza. Here are some basic tips for wine lovers visiting Mendoza.

Argentina’s Wine Capital

Although this blog has been mostly about Chilean wines and wine tourism along with wine tasting during my annual trips to California and France, right over the Andes mountains is Mendoza, the capital of Argentinian wine. If you’re a wine lover and take a trip to Chile, you might as well visit Mendoza too or vice versa. 

Although Argentina does have other wine regions like in Salta or Patagonia, Mendoza is the heart of Argentinian wine, and many producers based in Mendoza produce wines from these other regions too. Although a lot of wineries, who also source from different regions, can similarly be visited from Santiago as day trips, Chilean wine regions are more spread out, so I can’t say one region encapsulates Chilean wine like I can with Argentina. As a generalization, I would say Chile has more wine diversity, but Mendoza will be warmer in terms of climate, its wine (higher alcohol) and its people. 

Getting There & Around 

It’s a less than an hour flight between Santiago and Mendoza. Unlike in the US, you’re also allowed to take bottles with you as a carry-on so you can bring back your favorite wines if you live or are staying longer in either country. There are some cheap airlines like Sky and JetSmart in addition to the larger LATAM and Aerolineas Argentinas. 

Another option is driving, which will take about 5-6 hours. However, it’s more going from Mendoza to Santiago since their customs control inspection is much stricter. There are buses or you can rent a car. This is a great option if you want to check out the Andes, but when there’s the possibility of snow, you can get stuck on one side or face heavy traffic jams. 

Other Things to Do Besides Wineries 

What else you plan on doing may affect how you get there and where you stay. The first time we went was to check out the Vendimia (Harvest) Festival in March. Unlike Chile’s Vendimia Festivals, which are smaller and take place all over the country in different regions at different times over the course of 2 months, Mendoza has one massive festival over a weekend. It features parades, concerts, a Miss Vendimia pageant, and decorations around the city. The airport is close to and just north of the city of Mendoza (further from the vineyards which are south of the city) and all the festival events are in the city. Therefore, I’d probably fly in and stay in the city if my main goal was to participate in the Vendimia Festival. There are of course more lodging, food, wine shopping and cultural options in the city of Mendoza too.

For this trip, we decided to stay in Lujan de Cuyo which is the closest place to stay if you drive over from Santiago. It allows you to check out the Andes, such as the Aconcagua National Park and the Inca Natural Bridge, on your way there or back rather than taking a day tour from Mendoza itself. Despite the long drive, there’s hardly a moment where you’re not in awe of the beauty of the Andes. It’s a kaleidoscope of white snow with white, black, green and red jagged rocks with rivers and lakes. You can also go river rafting down the Mendoza river. In the winter, you can ski on either side of the border. Portillo on the Chilean side is particularly nice for its lake, and you can have lunch there with a nice view if it’s not ski season on the way to Mendoza or back.

In Lujan, you’ll also be closer to thermal spas and of course the vineyards. Some of the better restaurants are in Mendoza city, but there are several nice restaurants in the vineyards themselves and in Lujan de Cuyo or other smaller surrounding towns. It’s only 25-30 minutes from Lujan if you want to go to the city center. 

Visiting Wineries

Mendoza has 3 major wine regions from north to south: Maipu, Luján de Cuyo, and the Uco Valley. Personally, the wines get more interesting the further south you go as you reach the higher elevation and cooler Uco Valley, which makes fresher, more minerally wines. It’s more cutting edge in terms of winemaking too while Lujan and Maipu are where your favorite easy, ripe and fruity Malbecs are being produced given the sunny, warm weather all year round. 

However, in terms of visits, it may not matter which area you visit since many of the wineries that are based in one of these areas, have vineyards or source from vineyards in all 3 areas. For example, Catena, Argentina’s most famous producer, makes lots of wines from the Uco Valley but their bodega is located in Lujan de Cuyo. At the same time, if you really want to get to know the terroir and it’s your first time visiting, consider checking out wineries in all 3 regions. 

In one day, you really only have time for 3 visits, especially if you’re coming from Mendoza city. Maybe you can fit in 4 if you’re staying in the vineyards like Lujan, decide to stick to just one region, and/or are able to book tastings without tours. Otherwise, it takes at least 90 minutes just to get to the Uco Valley from Mendoza city, but you’ll pass Maipu (15-20 minutes away from the city) and Lujan vineyards (about 30 minutes from the city) on your way. Therefore, you can check out all 3 regions in one day. Maybe you can have lunch at one of the wineries too with views of the Andes and vineyards.

You may want to hire a driver if you plan on drinking and not spitting much since it’s a lot of driving to the Uco Valley. 

Our Visits 

Since we visited all 3 regions last time, I decided to stick to wineries in Lujan while taking advantage of the nice drive over and the thermal spa. Most places require reservations. Prices seem more expensive than I remember 6 years ago. Part of that is inflation as in many countries but also probably due to the recent overhaul of the economy by the new Argentinian president. As a practical note, you should be able to get by using a credit card (although some places charge 10%), dollars and Chilean pesos. There’s less of an advantage exchanging money on the black market like before. 

Shopping for Wine

Speaking of prices, buying wine in Argentina is still generally going to be cheaper than abroad (even in nearby Chile), and as I always mention in my wine tourism posts, there’s more variety in terms of types, styles, producers, regions and varieties. In many shops abroad, all you can find is Argentinian Malbec or perhaps other Bordeaux varietals/blends, but visiting Argentina is the opportunity to try other stuff like their whites, Pinots, natural wines or criolla grapes (local varieties that developed from crosses of European varieties). 

Although you can buy wine directly from the wineries, I checked out 3 places to buy wine with large and/or interesting selections. The first is Casa Vigil in the Palmares shopping center in Godoy Cruz, which is around halfway between downtown Mendoza and Lujan. It’s a restaurant from the producer of El Enemigo, who is also the winemaker of Catena. Besides a great wine selection by the bottle for the restaurant, they have a physical shop on the side and an online store. Their wine by the glass menu features El Enemigo wines, so I decided to focus on varieties I can’t normally find from them like Semillon and Chenin (tasting notes below).

There’s also Envinados, which is a wine bar in Mendoza city. It features a lot of low intervention boutique wines. Lastly, I ultimately bought a lot of wine from the shop Sol y Vino, which has a large selection of larger and smaller wineries along with different varieties, including criolla varieties (which will be a topic for a future post reviewing the wines I bought from them). Depending on how much you order, they also deliver for free in Mendoza and Lujan, but the shop itself is located in Mendoza city. 

The Bodegas

There are so many choices in Lujan to visit, but I like to focus on places I’ve never tried before or whose wines I can’t find easily where I live. All the places were within 5 minutes of each other and my lodging  in residential, central Lujan. There were several wineries on the way to the Cacheuta Thermal Spa too if you wanted to combine the two. Riccitelli, Cheval des Andes (only for pros), Kaiken, Durigutti, Fabre Montmayou and Vistalba are further out that way if coming from central Lujan.

The first place I visited was Carmelo Patti, a boutique winery with more of an Old World sensibility rather than commercial Argentinian Malbec. It’s also free to reserve a tour and tasting, which is less common to find these days as prices for wine, visits and winery restaurants have increased dramatically.

Next, I had lunch with my family at Bodega Lagarde in their restaurant Fogon. It’s one of the oldest wineries in Mendoza, with some 100 year old Malbec vines. It has a long reputation of making quality wine. Today they blend traditional and modern winemaking seamlessly. Their restaurant is highly rated too. 

Finally, I finished at Viña Alicia while my family checked out the free Casa Fader art museum. Viña Alicia is currently not open to the public, but a winemaker friend of a friend who has access to the bodega kindly gave me an informal tasting. If you’re a professional, you probably can still book a visit. It’s a winery for wine geeks because they grow lots of less common varieties for Mendoza, have old vine Malbec and make age-worthy reds. 

Winery and Tasting Notes

Casa Vigil

2022 El Enemigo Semillon – Initially without food, a savory wine with a touch of oak on the nose and waxy notes. Fruit starts to come out with swirling. The palate starts with white fruit and honey but has a long salty, minerally finish with a touch of spice. Medium body and acid. The fruit comes out more on the palate with savory food. There’s a subtle, demure side to this Semillon reminding more of Hunter Valley but with less acidity and more roundness/oily texture. There’s also an oxidative side to this wine that comes with more time. 20% was actually aged under Velo de Flor like Jura wines or Sherry. 15 months in French oak barrels (not clear how much new but it doesn’t seem like a lot). So there are aspects of this wine that would take me away from unoaked Hunter Valley Semillon. Anyway, an interesting wine with different personalities. This is sourced from Lujan de Cuyo. 91+

2021 El Enemigo Chenin Blanc – Slightly higher acid than the Semillon but more fruit driven than the Semillon. Don’t get any oak here. Simpler and fruitier than the Semillon. A crowd pleaser. This is their first vintage of Chenin to come to market. From Los Árboles in the Uco Valley. 90

2022 El Enemigo Bonarda – Fruity and floral purple fruit and flowers. Medium bodied. Super soft tannins. Low acid. Somewhat high alcohol. Somewhat typical for the variety but a bit more elegance and precision from the producer. Some Cabernet Franc is added to give it a bit more body. 90

2022 El Enemigo Malbec – Sourced from Gualtallary. A step up in body and intensity compared to the Bonarda but actually similar flavor profile and similar soft, elegant tannins. A little more acidic structure though. There’s an added chocolate aspect too, but it’s a Malbec that doesn’t go over the top in its ripeness or oak. They use really old foudre. Cooler and more elegant yet still definitely Malbec. 91

All four El Enemigo wines were less than $30 a bottle from the Casa Vigil store. 

Carmelo Patti 

Boutique family winery located really close to Luigi Bosca and other bodegas. They say their wines can age up to 20 years and the peak is at 8 years of age to 20. They say they don’t have a premium wine because it all depends on your taste and the wines are more or less made the same way. 20-30% exported all by word of mouth (US, South America, Europe). They don’t have their own vineyard, but they always source from the same farmer/vineyard about 6 km from their property in Lujan. Like many wineries, the tours are more geared for beginners to give them basics of winemaking and wine appreciation but they also have personal stories of the family and vineyard. The whole family works in the winery and gives the tours ,and the father gives tours too but makes sure to greet everyone in every tour.

2019 Malbec – Fresh and dark fruity nose with a touch of oak spice, chocolate and vanilla well integrated. On the palate, well-structured with high-acid (for a Malbec), medium+ body, moderate tannins, medium-high alcohol. Some savory and oak notes on the back end. Comes off more as a dark Chianti than a standard Argentinian Malbec. 90+

2017 Cabernet Sauvignon – Get some of the age on the wine with slightly dried fruit notes. Still tannins to resolve (as much as the younger wines) with slightly lower acid to the previous ones but it can be just the age. Some tobacco. Typical cassis. Warm. 91

2019 Cabernet Franc – Clearly Cab Franc on the nose with herbaceous notes but there’s some fresh fruit there too. Similarly structured on the palate as the Malbec with high acid, some oak and medium tannins but more red fruit. More herbaceous and peppery of course too. Savory backend. One might point to a more classic Chilean Bordeaux blend from Colchagua. 90

2018 Gran Assemblage 47 CS, 25 Malbec, 17 Merlot, 9 CF, 2 PV. This is the smoothest texturely. The most elegant with the softest tannins but still plenty of tannins. Mix of dark and red fruit and secondary notes. Medium-acid compared to the rest. 91

They use a little new oak and up to 7th use French oak barrels in all their wines. Overall, the wines are structured and fresh with a mix of warm fruit and present but integrated oak notes. Overall, it reminds me more of a hot vintage in Bordeaux from the style there 15-25 years ago. Something like 2005 and 2010 in Bordeaux with high acid, high alcohol, and high tannins. They also let the variety and terroir speak. People might find these too acidic and tannic young but they should age well. Some might want more fruit if you prefer more standard Mendocino reds. 

Bodega Lagarde 

This is also located off of San Martin like Carmelo Patti and several other wineries. Some of the produce they cook with is sourced from their own garden. This is the only Argentinian restaurant I’ve experienced to truly give me a rare steak when I order “jugoso.” Normally, they still give you medium-well even when you want it rare or medium-rare because Argentinians generally eat their meat well-done.

They gave us a complementary, nice fresh and minerally rosé while we were waiting. It’s probably their Lagarde Goes Pink Rosé, which is 50% Malbec and 50% Pinot Noir. 

2024 Lagarde Viognier – No wood at all. Only stainless steel tanks. Medium-body. Medium acid. Floral and fruity Viognier. Peachy with white flowers. A little initial fizz but it’s a relatively light and easy drinking version of Viognier. 90

2020 Guarda Malbec – This is the definition of modern classic which is the trend in Bordeaux and around the world today. It has the restraint and acidity of classic Old World Bordeaux but it has the phenolic round tannins of Modern New World wines without the heavy extraction. An elegant Malbec with violet Malbec fruit. Mild spice and vanilla from the oak. 91

2021 Proyecto Hermanas Malbec-Cabernet Franc 75 Malbec, 25 Cabernet Franc. Here you get a similar elegant style with well integrated oak of the previous Malbec, but there’s more spice and herbal aspects from Cab Franc. 91

NV Lagarde Lungo Extra Brut – Charmat method blend of Chardonnay, Semillon and Pinot Noir. Fairly dark compared to most Champagne. Not much nose but the palate has a nice minerality, moderately fine bubbles. Medium acid. The nose opens up some, but still shy. Definitely dry. 88

Viña Alicia

This 10 hectare property is run by the family behind Luigi Bosca. It was originally to make wines for the family and to honor their past. Hence, they grow some Italian and Spanish varieties. Although there are 60 different varieties grown on the estate, a lot of the wines are super tiny production and just for family and friends. They only started commercial production around 26 years ago. They only have around 50,000 liter production capacity and only around 13,000-15,000 bottles actually go to the market. It’s only direct purchase by individuals, restaurants and shops. They also have some really old Malbec vines. The tasting was more educational and several were from vats or barrel, so I didn’t rate them. It was more a chance for a wine geek to see what else you can do in Mendoza besides commercial Malbec although they do make old-vine Malbec and a mutation of Malbec called Brote Negro.

From tank

2024 Nebbiolo This is from the Bolla Nebbiolo clone, which is less common these days versus the more common Lampia clone. Really dark. Lots of acid, still red fruit and floral. Plenty of tannins. It doesn’t look like typical Nebbiolo, but it has some of the same characteristics on the palate. It will age in a used barrel. 

2023 Malbec Blend from old vines 50 to 100+ years old. Elegant fresh Malbec. Somewhat earthy. Tannic. 

2024 Brote Negro This is a mutation of Malbec. Spicier. More body and tannins than the regular Malbec.. 

2023 Petit Verdot – Quite fruity after tasting the Bordeaux PV a few months ago, but super tannic and spicy on the back end.

From barrel

2023 Malbec – super dark color. Already gaining roundness and oak spice but still super tannic and young. 

From bottle

2014 Malbec – Softened tannins but still some to resolve. Starting to have dried fruit notes. Still young with further evolution left. They said it’ll be better the next day. I was able to take the bottle home and 24 hours later, the tannins really softened up like silk, and the alcohol calmed down some. It was still more primary and secondary driven at this point. The point of this was to show the ageability of old-vine Malbec, and they were right. 

2024 Picco Lit – A grape from Friuli. It doesn’t go to market. Good moderate acid. White and yellow fruit and flowers. A bit of lychee and spice. Light body. 

2023 Tiara – Riesling, Albariño and Savagnin. Some months on lees. Nose brings me to Riesling. Palate is fresh. Medium-bodied. Spicy. 

2024 Pinot Noir – From estate vineyards. Light transparent color. Cherry and floral nose. Warm-climate Pinot but not over done. Lower acid yes, but still structured. Spice. Still red fruit driven and not California Syrah-like Pinot. 

2017 Cuarzo Petit Verdot – Juicy and spicy. Tannins are still present but softer than the tank sample of course. 

2018 Morena – 88 CS, 12 CF; Fresh, tangy, with green and red peppers. Still tannic. Needs time.